Category Archives: New Zealand

The start of the Denniston incline.

On the way through NZ, part 13: Denniston and Oparara Basin

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There are certainly countless amazing regions throughout NZ, depending on what you’re looking for. Except for Eastern Canterbury, I was keen to see each area of the South Island, and one of the most intriguing destinations I’ve read about prior to travelling there was the West Coast.

West Coast, you ask? No, not the one known for LA and San Francisco, but the one where rain is the dominant form of weather throughout the year. Nevertheless people go there all the time, often as part of a round trip, either going down this route, moving east in Southland and going back up, usually to Christchurch, or the other way round. Back to the rain: This area sees everything from approx. 3200 mm up to figures exceeding 6000 mm of water annually, which is W-E-T (yet I didn’t make one of the various lists online on the wettest places on Earth). Don’t let that put you off, as there are some real gems to be found here (actual and non-physical ones!); I haven’t seen half as much as I want to see but at least have been to an old mining post called Denniston as well as the Oparara Basin, a fascinating limestone basin on the edge of Kahurangi National Park – come have a look! Continue reading →

Hidden gems: Mount Tarawera

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Volcanoes. There’s certainly no lack of them in New Zealand, especially in what’s called the Taupo Volcanic Zone: A vast area which encompasses most of the Bay of Plenty and serves as my playground on many weekends for quite a while now. Fortunately for me and many Kiwis, most of these volcanoes are dormant, leaving mountains with interesting shapes, landscapes and histories behind (although it would be amazing to climb an active one – yes, I know it’s nuts, but adventure is the spice of life!). A few weeks ago I made my way up to Mount Tarawera, semi-famous for destroying the Pink and White Terraces in the 19th century and giving the name to the eponymous waterfalls and lake in the area. Calling the view from the summit spectacular is almost an understatement! Continue reading →

On the way through NZ, part 12: Abel Tasman National Park

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Golden beaches. Sapphire-coloured water. Palm trees and sunshine. We’re talking about a Pacific Island, don’t we? Well…not exactly. This well-known area is the Abel Tasman National Park, likely one of the most visited national parks. The two most common ways to explore this, even for New Zealand standards, extraordinary environment are hiking the Abel Tasman Coast Track or kayaking along its shoreline. I did the latter and it was certainly a good decision for a first time kayaker! If you think about exploring the Abel Tasman via the waters too and want to get an idea about it first, read on. Continue reading →

Datenschutz in Neuseeland: Eine Einführung

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Wir leben im digitalen Zeitalter. Wir können alles Mögliche im Internet kaufen, Inhalte anfordern, uns mit Gleichgesinnten austauschen und auch mit den Freunden aus Übersee, die man beim letzten Neuseelandaufenthalt kennengelernt hat, Kontakt halten. Letzteres wird in der Regel über Facebook und Instagram stattfinden – Angebote, die vermeintlich kostenlos sind, wobei dann aber unklar wäre, wie man die Unmengen an z. B. Servern, die dafür nötig sind, finanziert. Die Antwort ist natürlich: Man bezahlt mit seinen Daten. Im 21. Jahrhundert ist der Benutzer das Produkt, und die Mehrheit aller Technologie-Unternehmensneugründungen schlägt in genau diese Kerbe. Continue reading →

Ausgaben oder Abzocke…manchmal nahe beinander

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Wenn man über die Vorteile und Nachteile vom Leben in Neuseeland spricht, wird man, mindestens als Deutscher, sehr schnell auf das Thema Geld und Lebenskosten kommen. Als Rucksackreisender bekommt man das meistens nur über Lebensmittelpreise und ggf. Unterkunftskosten mit, wenn man aber hier sesshaft wird, halleluja – da tun sich richtige (finanzielle) Abgründe auf. Warum das so ist? Peter von NZ2Go hat das in einem sehr guten Artikel, inklusive wirtschaftlichem Hintergrund, schon besser erklärt, daher lasse ich ihm dort den Vortritt. Ein paar dieser Abgründe will ich heute mal näher beleuchten, da man immer wieder von jungen Deutschen hört, denen der Lebensstil hier zusagt – die aber häufig nicht wissen, was kostentechnisch diesbezüglich los ist, sowohl beim Reisen, aber auch Bleiben. Tatsächlich glauben immer noch ein paar Leute, es wäre günstiger hier als in Mitteleuropa…leider nein. Continue reading →

Hidden gems: Sentinel Rock

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Coming to NZ was a revelation for me in many aspects. Not did I only realise that I knew much less about our planet and the progress of globalisation than I thought, I also underestimated that travelling around the world is more a trend these days rather than an exception. Excuse my early naivety, but I really didn’t expect that many European, North American and other youngsters, let alone all the “standard” tourists when I came here…only to find that apparently half the world has made its way to Australia and NZ. Despite being one of them, often I would get annoyed by my own people or hordes of tourists in general, since I came to “escape” them! No, I’m not anti-social, but sometimes I prefer to be in unspoiled places not or only less known to the public. Continue reading →

On the way through NZ, part 11: Picton and the Marlborough Sounds

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It is a majestic feeling: Standing on the deck of the Interislander Ferry, which transports around one million people per year, and seeing the Marlborough Sounds coming closer every minute. Most people think the South Island beats the North Island in terms of natural beauty, and I’m no exception – I was pretty much in love with it already when I started reading about all the places and what they would feature. As already implied in the Wellington post, there’s no need for me to repeat all the things other NZ travel blogs, tourism operators etc. already provide; this is just a recap of my experiences (and, nevertheless, a few recommendations) in Picton and the Marlborough Sounds. Describing it in a single word? Fantastic, despite the fact that I haven’t seen much!

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Save heeeaps – part 2: Supermarkets & food

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Time for part two of this series – this time I’ll tell a bit about the supermarkets and generally food prices in New Zealand (based on my humble knowledge – do not expect professional information).

If you’ve been to a supermarket here before and you’re from Central Europe or the US/Canada, you’ll have noticed that food prices are significantly higher, especially when it comes to dairy products. It’s certainly odd since the dairy industry generates probably among the highest profits for the country and is generally bigger than the ones in, for example, Europe. The only logical reason is the small, almost non-existent competition on the NZ market; buying a bottle of lower-than-average quality milk will set you back by the same amount of money as average or even better quality milk over in the “Old World”. Let’s start with the supermarkets first.

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On the way through NZ, part 10: Wellington

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New Zealand’s capital labels itself as the coolest little capital in the world and while I didn’t visit too many capitals yet, I’m tempted to agree that it does look like a cool city, but there is this “but”…see further below. Most of the world’s capitals are freakin’ huge compared to tiny Wellington, but that doesn’t mean the city lacks necessary transport systems, infrastructure in terms of shops, restaurants and so forth. However, even though I’ve been there three times by now, the city didn’t manage to fascinate me yet or really provide me with memorable places and events. Likely I never emerged in it like I should do as young person…well, I’ll surely be over there in the future soon. For these reasons this post will rather be a short, generic summary of my impression about it, and I’m 100 % sure other travellers on the net will have blogs telling you more about the local micro brewery culture, the best clubs and other details I’ve missed all these times.

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On the way through NZ, part 9: The Forgotten World Highway and Mt Taranaki

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After leaving the Tongariro National Park there were two options: Heading down to Ohakune and investigate the opportunities doing a journey on the Whanganui river or driving to the Taranaki area to climb the famous extinct volcano, which is NZ’s most climbed mountain. When we figured we likely will go kayaking at the Abel Tasman National Park in the South Island and thus wouldn’t need to do it here, our first stop was Taumarunui, a dull township you probably won’t find in any travel guide. The reason for going there was filling up the petrol and starting our trip on State Highway 43, also known as “Forgotten World Highway” as it features tiny villages which look they didn’t develop in the past 50 years, old mines, old graves, an old tunnel and so forth from NZ’s pioneer times in the late 19th century. Continue reading →